Department of Health and Social Care

Question

Dr Lisa Cameron: What steps his Department is taking to help ensure adequate investment in eating disorder research.

Gillian Keegan: Mental health research is a strategic priority for the Departmental-funded National Institute for Health Research. We are increasing year on year spend in mental health research and invested £93 million in 2019/2020. We also fund the Eating Disorders Genetic Initiative, one of the largest eating disorders studies in England. In partnership with Beat, it aims to better understand what may lead to an eating disorder and how to improve treatments, both prevention and intervention.

Question

Jason McCartney: What recent assessment his Department has made of the progress of the covid-19 vaccine rollout.

Maggie Throup: Due to our successful COVID-19 vaccination programme we have now delivered over 83 million doses to people in England, including 3.6 million booster and third doses to the most vulnerable since September.This has reduced the link between case numbers and hospitalisation, preventing the National Health Service from becoming overwhelmed and provided additional protection ahead of the winter.Over 24.3million infections have been prevented and more than 127,000 lives saved to date.

Question

James Duddridge: What recent assessment his Department has made of the effectiveness of continual glucose monitors in treating diabetes.

Maggie Throup: The Department has not made any recent assessment. Commissioning decisions for the adoption of technology products in diabetes are guided by authoritative, evidence-based guidance from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE).NICE has made a number of recommendations on continuous glucose monitoring in its suite of guidelines on diabetes, which are currently being updated. NICE will consider the evidence on and expects to publish its updated guidance in March 2022.

Question

Patricia Gibson: What steps his Department is taking to control the covid-19 outbreak during winter 2021-22.

Sajid Javid: On 14 September, we set out our plan to sustain the progress made in combatting the virus and prepare the country for future challenges.The high level of vaccine protection has allowed us to live with COVID-19 without stringent restrictions. However, If the data suggests the National Health Service is likely to come under unsustainable pressure, the Government has prepared a Plan B.The NHS is working to ensure appropriate operational plans are in place, including to meet potential increases in demand for emergency care.

Question

Mark Pawsey: What steps he is taking to increase the number of in-person GP appointments.

Maria Caulfield: On 14 October we published a comprehensive new plan to support general practitioners (GPs) and to make it easier for patients to see or speak to GPs and their teams.Our plan is supported by a new £250 million Winter Access Fund to assist patients with urgent care needs to be seen by their practitioner on the same day, taking account of their preferences.

Question

Andrew Selous: What steps he is taking to increase patient access to GPs.

Maria Caulfield: On 14 October we published a comprehensive new plan to support general practitioners (GPs) and to make it easier for patients to see or speak to GPs and their teams.Our plan is supported by a new £250 million Winter Access Fund to assist patients with urgent care needs to be seen by their practitioner on the same day, taking account of their preferences.

Integrated Care Systems

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the reasons are for the determination of integrated care system population sizes; and what correlation there is between population size for those systems and improved (a) healthcare delivery and local (b) accountability and transparency.

Edward Argar: Due to the variety in system complexity, particularly between rural and urban areas as well as population density, local authority boundaries and acute patient flows, the population size and footprint of integrated care systems (ICSs) vary across the country. System leaders will therefore engage and support partnership working across all boundaries to best meet the needs of their populations. All ICSs will be locally accountable and transparent regardless of size.

Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office

Travel: Coronavirus

Thangam Debbonaire: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment she has made of the standard and adequacy of covid-19 quarantine arrangements for UK citizens on arrival in specific countries when publishing travel guidance on those countries.

Amanda Milling: The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) Travel Advice provides information to help British nationals make informed decisions about foreign travel and remains under constant review to ensure it reflects our latest assessment of risks to British nationals. The border entry requirements in overseas destinations are the responsibility of host governments. FCDO Travel Advice pages have an entry requirements section that reflects the current rules at each destination. We encourage British nationals to monitor our travel advice when planning their trip.

Myanmar: Association of Southeast Asian Nations

Ms Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether the Foreign Minister of Myanmar will be attending the G7 ASEAN Foreign Ministers 2021 meeting.

Amanda Milling: The UK has invited ASEAN to the G7 Foreign and Development Ministerial Meeting in Liverpool in December as a demonstration of our commitment to ASEAN and the Indo Pacific region. The UK has been clear that the military regime in Myanmar is not welcome to attend in person. We note ASEAN's decision not to invite Senior General Min Aung Hlaing to attend the ASEAN Leaders' Summit. The UK Government condemns the military coup in Myanmar, the violence against the people of Myanmar and the detention of members of the civilian government and civil society, including State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi and President Win Myint. The UK will continue to work closely with ASEAN on our shared ambition of ending the crisis in Myanmar.

Overseas Aid

Sarah Champion: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, which departments of the former Foreign and Commonwealth Office and former Department for International Development have been aligned to create her Department's new Western Balkans Department; which three Official Development Assistance (ODA) programmes administered through that new Department are in receipt of the highest values of funding in the financial year 2021-22; and what the value of that funding is for each of those ODA programmes.

Wendy Morton: The Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office's Western Balkans Department comprises the former Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) Western Balkans Department and the Western Balkans Programme Unit, which includes staff who previously worked in a Department for International Development and FCO Joint Unit delivering programming in the Western Balkans. For financial year 2021-22 the three programmes administered through Western Balkans Department with the highest value allocations are as follows:Conflict, Stability and Security Fund (CSSF) Stability ProgrammeCSSF Media, Cyber and Defence ProgrammeGood Governance FundProgramme level funding is regularly updated on DevTracker. Final country data is published in the Statistics for International Development each year.

Ministry of Defence

Helicopters: Contracts for Services

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what plans he has to launch a competitive tender for the Army’s new medium lift helicopter.

Jeremy Quin: Whilst no final decision has been taken, the Department's expectation is that the procurement will be subject to a competition. Further information will be provided in due course.

Military Aid

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will publish (a) the number of open Military Aid to Civil Authorities (MACA) requests, (b) the number of personnel committed and on standby for MACA requests and (c) details of those MACA requests.

James Heappey: As of 11 October there were 20 open Military Aid to Civil Authorities (MACA) tasks; further information on these tasks is included in the attached table. Those tasks with zero Defence personnel assigned in the table relate to the use of the Defence Estate by other authorities and no Defence personnel are specifically dedicated to the execution of the MACA. In addition to those personnel assigned in the table, 4,000 troops are held at readiness to further support a range of resilience operations at the request of the civil authorities.MOD MACA Requests (docx, 17.1KB)

Department for Work and Pensions

Employment: Northern Ireland

Stephen Farry: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment the Government has made of the potential merits of the provision of financial restitution to people who (a) were working in Northern Ireland at ages 14 and 15 between 1947 and 1957 and (b) continue to be subject to a discrepancy as a result of having worked longer than their GB counterparts when the working age changed to 14 in 1947.

Guy Opperman: No such assessment has been made. Following the fundamental reforms of the National Insurance scheme in 1975 the law provided that only paid contributions and credits from the year in which a person reached age 16 to the year before the one in which they reached State Pension age should count for the purposes of entitlement to the State Pension. The Government has no plans to review the position reached by Parliament and which has been in place since 1975.

State Retirement Pensions: Kilmarnock and Loudoun

Alan Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many State Pensions are being assessed by her Department as possible cases of underpayment in Kilmarnock and Loudoun constituency as at 23 September 2021.

Guy Opperman: The information requested is not available.

Home Office

Computer Misuse Act 1990

Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment her Department has made of the effectiveness of the Computer Misuse Act 1990 following the review announced in May 2021.

Damian Hinds: The Integrated Review committed the UK to fortifying its position as a world-leading and responsible cyber power, taking a new, full spectrum approach to the UK’s cyber capability through keeping our people safe, staying ahead of our enemies and improving the lives of the British people. Robust domestic legislation is key to achieving this mission and whilst the Computer Misuse Act has proved to be an effective piece of legislation, we need to ensure that it remains able to tackle the ever-changing cyber threat. For this reason, on 11 May, the Home Secretary announced that the Government was to conduct a Call for Information, as part of a review of the Computer Misuse Act. The Call for Information has now closed and the Home Office is reviewing the proposals made. We will provide an update to Parliament in due course.

Cybercrime

Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to tackle cyber crime.

Damian Hinds: As technology develops, so too do opportunities for cyber criminals to target the UK. The arrival of 5G and the Internet of Things will create multiple new vulnerabilities, including inside people’s homes. ‘Deep Fake’ technology provides opportunities for fraud and identity theft or for exploitation and extortion. We need to confront these crimes and develop and improve technological safeguards so that citizens never become victims.As we made clear in the Beating Crime Plan published earlier this year, we are working across government to deliver improvements to the UK’s cyber resilience and ensure we stay ahead of cyber criminals. We have invested £195 million over the last five years to establish a specialist cyber law enforcement network to disrupt and prosecute cyber criminals and support victims in response and recovery. We are developing a campaign to confront the growing threat of ransomware and to disrupt cyber criminals based overseas.We will publish a new National Cyber Security Strategy later this year. The Strategy will drive significant improvements in the UK’s response to cybercrime. It will strengthen the Law Enforcement response and drive greater collaboration with the National Cyber Centre and the National Cyber Force.

Undocumented Migrants: English Channel

Tom Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what plans she has to bring forward legislative proposals to amend human rights legislation in order to prevent the unsafe crossings across the English channel by illegal immigrants.

Tom Pursglove: The Nationality and Borders Bill, which is part of our New Plan for Immigration, seeks to build a fair, but firm asylum and illegal migration system.The Bill will tackle unsafe crossings of the Channel by giving enhanced powers to Border Force, introducing longer sentences for illegal entry and increasing the maximum penalty for people smuggling to life imprisonment.

Emergency Services

Debbie Abrahams: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the Joint Emergency Services Interoperability Principles.

Damian Hinds: The Joint Emergency Services Interoperability Principles (JESIP) portfolio is continually reviewed to ensure it reflects the most recent learning and understanding. The JESIP Joint Doctrine is in its third edition, and each version incorporates learning from operational incidents and exercises as well as inquests and inquiries. The effectiveness of JESIP is dependent on how well it has been embedded within each emergency service organisation, and how well it is applied during an incident.

Emergency Services

Debbie Abrahams: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment the JESIP Ministerial Board has made of the potential merits of commissioning a new HMIC-led tri-service review of the level of JESIP embeddedness across the emergency services.

Damian Hinds: In recent months the Home Office has worked to increase the JESIP content in the current inspection regime undertaken by Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services (HMICFRS), and further consideration will be made about the merits of commissioning another tri-service review of JESIP in the future.

Manchester Arena Inquiry

Debbie Abrahams: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, by what mechanism the findings of the Manchester Arena Inquiry will be analysed in the JESIP Joint Doctrine Review 2021.

Damian Hinds: The third edition of the JESIP Joint Doctrine was published on 11 October 2021. The refreshed Doctrine incorporates learning from evidence heard during the Manchester Arena Inquiry. It has also incorporated key learning from the other terrorist attacks, and the Grenfell Tower fire. The Joint Doctrine is updated as a process of continuous improvement and learning from the Inquiry’s Phase 2 report will be taken into consideration as part of this process.

Overseas Students: Afghanistan

Dr Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether scholars from Afghanistan who have been (a) validated by the Council for At-Risk Academics and (b) awarded funded research posts at UK universities will be required to pay in advance (i) visa fees and (ii) health surcharges if they are in hiding without access to funds in (A) Afghanistan and (B) hostile countries adjacent to Afghanistan whilst awaiting safe passage to the UK; and whether the dependants of such scholars will be required to provide in advance evidence of ability to support themselves for a specified period.

Victoria Atkins: The Government has issued a policy statement which gives further information on the eligibility, prioritisation and referral of people for the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme (ACRS). The policy statement can be found on the GOV.UK: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/afghanistan-resettlement-and-immigration-policy-statementThose who were not called forward as part of Op PITTING, or who are not offered resettlement under the ACRS, will need to apply to come to the UK under the existing economic or family migration rules. They will be expected to meet the eligibility requirements of their chosen route, which includes paying relevant fees and charges, and providing biometrics.Dependants are able to apply as a dependent on their partner or parents application. However, they must provide information to show they meet the specific requirements of the Immigration Rules.The ACRS is not yet open and is being developed at pace. Further details will be released in due course.Eligible people will be prioritised and referred for resettlement to the UK as set out in the policy statement.More details, as soon as they are available, will be published on the GOV.UK: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/afghan-citizens-resettlement-scheme

Cabinet Office

United Nations: Treaties

Lee Anderson: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, what assessment he has made of the effect of the UK no longer being bound by common EU positions on British delegates' positions on domestic policy at Conferences of Parties within the UN treaty system.

Michael Ellis: Leaving the EU and the agreement of the Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA) means that the UK has full political and economic independence. The Government is using this opportunity to show what Global Britain means to the rest of the world and play our part as a global leader. We shall do so by advancing UK policies internationally, including through Conferences of Parties within the UN treaty system.

Department for International Trade

Climate Change: Trade Agreements

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, if she will make it her policy to integrate firm climate commitments into all future free trade agreements and aligned with (a) the Paris Agreement and (b) the UK’s climate and environmental goals.

Mr Ranil Jayawardena: HM Government is committed to upholding our climate commitments in free trade agreements. We will seek to maintain the United Kingdom’s high levels of environmental protection and sovereign right to regulate in pursuit of net zero by 2050, and affirm our commitments to multilateral environment agreements, including the Paris Agreement. As an example, such provisions were recently agreed with Australia and set out at Agreement in Principle.

Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership: China

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what assessment she has made of the implications for her policies of China’s application to join the CPTPP; and if she will make a statement.

Penny Mordaunt: The Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) is a group of economies which promotes free and fair trade and requires members to meet high standards, particularly against unfair trading practices. As a non-member, the UK is not commenting on the specifics of other economies’ interest in the agreement. It’s for the members to consider China’s application. Once the UK has joined CPTPP it will have the same rights as other parties in respect of future applicants. There has to be a consensus of all the parties to admit any new economy.